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Techno Arms MAG-7
|barrel= |weight= |justweight= |width= |height= |magazine=5-round detachable box magazine |cycle= |effective= |range= |usedby= |velocity= }} The Techno Arms MAG-7 is a South African shotgun. History The MAG-7 was designed in 1995 and was intended specifically for close combat and operations in confined spaces. Despite the design concept being geared towards law enforcement and military close quarters combat scenarios, the weapon was never exactly popular due to a perceived lack of need and a variety of design issues. Two variants are known to have been produced; the MAG-7 and MAG-7M1, the latter of which is a civilian-legal version. The MAG-7M1 was imported to the United States in two different batches by two companies (VFI and PW Arms), although a few changes had to be made to the weapon for it to not be classified as a short-barreled shotgun or an AOW by the NFA. The company that produces the weapon, Techno Arms PTY, is still active as of 2012 and manufactures a less-lethal variant as well. Design Details Resembling "an Uzi on steroids", the MAG-7 is essentially a pump-action shotgun with rather unconventional looks. The odd part about the MAG-7 compared to most pump-action shotguns is its use of a magazine as opposed to a tubular magazine as seen on many other shotguns. The magazine holds five shells and is approximately the size of an AR-15 30-round STANAG magazine. The weapon has a variety of stock options, including a rather odd-looking fixed wooden stock and a folding stock, but also had options of not having any sort of stock at all. A retaining latch at the rear of the weapon holds the two pieces of the weapon's receiver together. The weapon is actually far larger than it appears, being larger than an IMI Desert Eagle. The weapon is notorious for having poor ergonomics, mainly with regards to the placement of the safety; the safety lever is located at a very odd position at the rear of the frame on both sides, with a long lever extension added for the lever on the left to make it easier to operate. Ammunition The MAG-7 takes 12 gauge shells, although not of the usual sort. The MAG-7 takes Swartklip 12 gauge shells, a very unusual version of the 12 gauge shotgun shell usually considered proprietary; the weapon will not chamber normal 12 gauge shells. As the aforementioned shells are practically unavailable outside of South Africa, US import weapons are advertised to use alternative shells instead, the most common of which being 12 gauge mini shells manufactured by Aguila Ammunition Company; these shells do fit in the magazine and will fire but are far too short to feed reliably.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IW7k8WHS2Go&ab_channel=ForgottenWeapons Century Arms produces a line of mini shells as well in and 2 \tfrac{1}{4} in (57 mm) lengths; the 2 \tfrac{1}{4} -inch shells are regarded as the best alternative to the 60mm proprietary shells that the MAG-7 uses. Variants ;MAG-7M1 Civilian-legal variant with wooden stock and barrel. ;M7 Dual Riot Less-lethal version which essentially appears to be a Milkor Stopper stuck on top of a normal MAG-7. The M7 appears to have not gone into any form of production at all, with only one prototype built. Trivia *Poor trigger discipline (i.e. keeping fingers on the trigger) when using a MAG-7 is actually correct operation of a MAG-7, as the weapon was designed to be operated with the shooter's finger on the trigger; as the weapon's pump is pumped back far enough, it partially covers the trigger guard, so resting a finger on the side of the trigger guard can result in slamming the back of the pump into it. References Category:Shotguns